Volkswagen Avoids Effort to Beef Up Oversight in German State Election<br />If confirmed by official tallies, the result would be a blow to Ms. Merkel, who had visited Lower Saxony several times to campaign<br />and is now negotiating to form a government in Berlin after her party’s poor performance in elections last month.<br />FRANKFURT — Germany’s largest opposition party appeared likely to retain power in an important state election on Sunday<br />that could sway the balance of power in Berlin and stymie efforts to strengthen oversight at Volkswagen, which dominates the region’s economy.<br />The Christian Democrats in Lower Saxony began the election campaign with a substantial lead<br />but may have been hurt by Ms. Merkel’s performance in the national elections last month.<br />The state of Lower Saxony owns a 20 percent stake in Volkswagen, and the party in power has a strong say over company strategy.<br />The Social Democrats led by Mr. Weil won 37 percent of the vote, a gain of almost<br />5 percentage points from elections in 2013, according to unofficial returns.<br />The Left party, which has roots in the Communist Party<br />that once controlled East Germany, apparently did not achieve the 5 percent share of votes needed to secure a place in the state Parliament.
